lazz

Hi guys,having trouble with win 98se freezing during boot up,and sometimes may need to restart 3 times in a row to boot up and sometimes freezes randomly while using.I've been on the hjt forum first and system seems to be clean from spy/malware.Please help.Thx.

ronang

Hi Lazz,

I am on WINME which is really only an update of WIN98. I have had this problem and immediately suspected mailware. I was right. I had already used the usual and apparently most effective mailware detectors to try to pinpoint the issue but had come up with only 3 dodgy registry entries, which were removed immediately. Since I took the drastic action I will outline, I have witnessed the same problem on several PCs and it seems to be a very well masked Trojan virus, sitting waiting for activation by an open internet connection, when it will hijack your conenction and who knows what else.

The next step we took was to clean registry, which did no good (but is advisable all the same) and then to check again for errors on the local hard drive(s). Run "scan disk" (right-click on your C: and any other drives you may have and select Properties>tools (tab)>>"Error-checking status" button and wait for the applicaton to finish it's job. If the search throws back some bogey files, make sure to read the dialogue box carefully, some important system and reg files can be deleted with this operation if you are not careful. If the search does not complete, you may consider several options.

Option 1. - Stick with this instance of your PC that has difficult virus issues and maybe someday crack the challenge (who knows what monitoring of your every keystroke may take place inthe meantime!! :-~).

Optiont 2. - Format and split your hard drive and start again, selecting only the programs you really need/want!

I have taken Option 2 on three occasions in my exploration of PC tech and have found it a rewarding experience each time. Once your hard drive is split it is far easier to deal with viruses on any specific drive, simply backup your data to your chosen Hard drive (or external HD) and boot up an OS from your A: drive or a CDROM. and then format your corrupted HD, wiping all corrupt SYSTEM and REGISTRY files (where the worst culprits are usually lying in wait).

To Split your Hard Drive:
MAKE SURE TO BACK-UP ALL DATA BEFORE
When booting your PC to , ensure you enter through the BIOS and then boot the machine through your Floppy drive or CDROM MS DOS and enter the "FDISK" command at the prompt for the drive you would like to format. Follow the prompts to set up a Primary partition, and any others you may want.

This all takes about 2-6 hours (or more) depending on the size of your hard drive and what is on it.

Good luck with it, this is only a suggestion, if you do not feel comfortable using FDISK then don't use it, there is no way back and you will have to have an installation CD for your OS to complete this. If you do, remember to BACK-UP ALL YOUR DATA, it will all be wiped from the hard disk otherwise.



ronang

lazz

Thx ronang I tried the scan and it didnt find any errors.

oshwyn5

The fact that multiple restarts can lead to a successful boot to me indicates that your power supply is failing. The voltage is dropping when there is a heavy draw during boot as drives spin up, ram gets charged, cards get powered up etc.
Each time it fails to boot and you restart, the drives are already spinning a bit, and somewhat warmed, the ram retains a partial charge etc and it becomes easier and easier on the power supply to boot.
Often these symptoms start after adding an additional drive or upgrading a video card. Sometimes they just come with age.

My troubleshooting advice would be to disconnect power to all drives but hard drive , remove PCI cards ; basically cut the demand for power as much as possible .
If you boot on a first boot after that; it is almost certain that it is power (could still be a device conflict or bad device or card; but power is cheaper to replace).